


The Song in Me (ON HIATUS)

by SilentGhostWriter2017



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball, Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But He Doesn't Remember, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Some elements of fantasy, Suicide Attempt, Temporary Amnesia, but it will last a while for Kuroko, kinda slow burn, prince!Kuroko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-03-26 10:51:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13856289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentGhostWriter2017/pseuds/SilentGhostWriter2017
Summary: The four-year-old heir apparent and prince from the northern kingdom of Aurora loses his memory, his ability to vocally-express his emotions and ability to sing after a terrible accident on his way to a visit to the prince and heir apparent of the kingdom of Agnapolis.More than a decade later, in Tokyo, Japan, Kuroko Tetsuya struggles to move on from his departure from the Generation of Miracles. He finds a strange flute, which unwittingly sets him on a course towards idol stardom, love, and huge revelations that will not only change his destiny and identity, but also put him in the middle of a conspiracy that threatens diplomatic security.(Currently on-hold. Being rewritten)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke, Uta no Prince-sama. I also do not own any songs that I will include as part of the story, or characters from both titles. KnB and Utapri belong to their respective owners.

_“Someone! Get help quick! There has been a terrible accident!”_

_“Oh to the Muse’s heavenly name! This is bad! It’s the royal limousine of Aurora!”_

_“Someone put out the fires! Quick!”_

_“This is terrible, no one could have survived that crash!”_

_“This is a constitutional crisis!”_

_“Wait! Hang on! Get some help here!”_

_“Why?! What’s going on?!”_

_“The prince! He’s still alive!”_

_“Are you kidding me?!”_

_“I’m not! The prince is seriously injured, but still alive! Quick, someone help me get him out!”_

_———_

_“How is Prince Nathaniel, doctor?”_

_“Thankfully, he was pulled out of the wreckage just in time, Your Majesty. If he had been left inside for any longer, his chances of survival would have been negligible.”_

_“But will he be okay?”_

_“…Unfortunately, his injuries are very serious. It pains me to tell you this, but there is a chance that he won’t be the same person after this.”_  

_“What do you mean?”_

_“The crash resulted in Prince Nathaniel getting a concussion that has put him into a coma. There is also a high chance of amnesia in the event that he does wake up. Furthermore, he has suffered injuries to his vocal chords.”_

_“So…you’re saying…”_

_“I am really sorry, Your Majesties, but with the severity of his injuries, it will be almost impossible for Prince Nathaniel to sing, or express emotion in his voice ever again.”_

———

It is March, the end of the academic year in Japan. School across the country are or have conducted the graduation ceremony for their senior cohorts. Teikō Middle School is among those that are in the midst of seeing off their graduating students.

Among the hundreds of students gathered in the auditorium, listening to the principal’s departing speech, sits a certain Kuroko Tetsuya, also known, perhaps formerly by this point, as the ‘Phantom Sixth Man’ of the infamous Generation of Miracles. This was supposed to be an emotional and momentous occasion for everyone, but not for Kuroko. 

Even if it doesn’t look like it, Kuroko had become a mere shell of his former self. In a space of one and a half years, he slowly lost his friends that were the Generation of Miracles to the illusion of victory, inflated egos and split personalities. To add insult to injury, it was the Miracles themselves who caused Kuroko to lose his childhood friend, Ogiwara Shigehiro, a result of the monsters that they have become.

Now, as he sits silently in his seat, barely listening to the student council president giving their farewell speech, Kuroko reflects on his subsequent actions after that fateful match with Meiko. The submission of the resignation letter, and his subsequent cutting of ties with his former friends. He remembered watching, from the shadows, Kise and Momoi trying desperately to find after he disappeared from the court.

But as much at it pained his heart for putting Momoi through such anguish (not so much for Kise), Kuroko is a person of their word. He stayed invisible to the Miracles, showing up only for classes, and turning the opposite direction should he chance upon any of the Miracles.

With his graduation in just a matter of minutes, Kuroko knew that this was going to be the end. The basketball within him had died with that fateful match and his resignation letter. The main question now is…what is he going to do with high school?

The nagging thought stayed stuck inside Kuroko’s mind throughout the remainder of the ceremony. When the students were finally dismissed, he blended into the throngs of incoherent voices and bodies of his schoolmates, pushing himself out of the school gates for the final time.

As he walked away from Teikō, Kuroko wondered what he could do now, since it was still only mid-afternoon.

‘I should get a vanilla shake…’

Maybe, his favorite drink could bring him some sort of comfort, no matter how small. He really needed the comfort right now.

———

“Thank you for your patronage!”

Kuroko nodded his head in thanks, walking away from the counter with a tray holding three tall cups of vanilla shakes. Making a beeline for an empty booth, he sat down with a sigh. Slinging his bag off from his shoulder, Kuroko grabs the first cup and takes a sip. The cold, sweet flavor of vanilla slides down into his stomach, filling his mind with a soft, albeit superficial feeling of comfort. It isn’t a permanent solution, Kuroko knows, but this has to do for now.

Setting the cup down, Kuroko fishes his phone from his pocket. He opens his social media feed, scrolling through what’s hot and the latest trends.

‘I must remember to block the Miracles from my friends list later…’ 

Scrolling further, Kuroko stops at one particular video. Tapping the ‘play’ button, he quickly realizes it is a livestream of an interview from a talk show that he sometimes watches. The host is interviewing seven handsome young men that Kuroko doesn’t immediately recognize. 

_“We’re back with STARISH with news about their upcoming national tour next year.”_

“Oh, no wonder they look familiar…”

Kuroko falls silent as he watches the host ask the boy band questions ranging from how many cities the tour will cover, too more general topics such as the practices and vocal training they go through in preparation for the tour.

 _“…sometimes, we don’t end choreography practice until 10 at night.”_ the redhead Kuroko knows as Ittoki Otoya replies to a question.

Kuroko remains impassive as the one with long, orange hair, Jinguji Ren, needles the man with short, straight-cut navy-blue hair, Hijirikawa Masato, about how the latter’s perfectionism is the reason for the late ends to their practices. Masato jabs Ren with his elbow in retaliation, amidst the laughter from the unseen studio audience. 

‘It must be nice to have friends like that…’

Kuroko’s attention drifts away from the video, his memories of happier times with the Miracles playing in his mind like an old film, colors fading and desaturating, marks and spots from time and wearing dotting the images. Kuroko reminisces of the six of them, leaving Maji Burger as a group.

He would be drinking his vanilla shake, as per usual. Aomine and Kise would be fighting over a burger. Midorima would be scoff in disgust at their behavior, while Murasakibara would be popping his fifth packet of fries into his mouth in nonchalance at the general ruckus. Akashi would just chuckle at their antics, before moving to chat with Kuroko. 

Those moments, so normal, so everyday, were now so far away and forgotten. Kuroko felt tears well in his eyes. He blinks to stop them from cascading down his cheeks, even if it is highly unlikely that anyone would have noticed him anyway to see his tears.

———

Kuroko spends the next few hours at Maji Burger, until the sun has set and night comes rolling in. In his time there, he drinks his way through at least three more vanilla shakes, the total number doubling to six. Aside from one regular burger that he only half-finishes, that is all he consumes that day. He doesn’t have the stomach to hold down anything solid at this point.

He continues to scroll through his social media feed to pass the time. Many a time, a post or news article about STARISH would pop up. Although he wouldn’t consider himself a hardcore fan, rather someone who just admired them for their talents and enjoyed listening to their songs in a casual manner, Kuroko would always read the post or article each and every time. And occasionally, one particular idol caught his attention more than the others. His name is Cecil Aijima, the prince and heir apparent to the throne in the faraway kingdom of Agnapolis.

For some reason unknown to the tealnette, the tanned idol with striking green eyes captivated him. Despite not recalling ever met Cecil in person, there is a feeling of deja vu that rolls through Kuroko’s body whenever his eyes fall on Cecil’s green ones. It is like as if he knows Cecil from somewhere, but he can’t wrap his head around it or pinpoint it at all.

Nonetheless, Kuroko brushes the feeling aside. When 8pm rolls around, he decides that it is time to make the journey home. Gathering up the six empty cups and half-eaten burger, he tosses them into the bin, before stepping out of the restaurant into the night. 

Despite the late hour, the streets are still lively with cars whizzing past and people going about their business. Kuroko blends in into the movement of people once again, until he deviates from the main flow of human traffic into the quieter abodes of the suburbs.

In the quiet streets, a far cry from the noisy, busy roads of the city, Kuroko cuts through the nearly empty sidewalks to his home amongst the houses and low-rise apartment blocks that make up his neighborhood. The tealnette comes to a stop at a railroad crossing, the barrier down as a train is approaching. The somber aura from the graduation ceremony is back again. As the train rushes past, Kuroko feels his soul dull from the cloud of negativity forming over his head, the comfort from six vanilla shakes fading away with the train as the barriers rise to allow him to cross.

The more he walks, the bigger the cloud gets. It starts to affect his sense of directions, for when Kuroko momentarily snaps out of his gloominess to check his surroundings, he realizes he had taken the wrong turn into a different part of the neighborhood. Sighing to himself, Kuroko turns around to head back, when he spots the neighborhood park just across the street.

He does spend time at the park on occasion, but that was usually reserved for the weekend or when a day just became too much for him. But right now, with one and a half years’ worth of pain bottled up in his soul, Kuroko needed someplace to let it all out, and his enclosed home is definitely not the answer.

‘I suppose there’s no harm in hanging around for a little while.’

With his mind set, Kuroko checks the street for any oncoming vehicles, before crossing over and entering the park.

———

Naturally, the park is devoid of people at such a late hour. Perfect for Kuroko who wished to spend the time alone with no interruptions.

The park is pretty standard stuff, a playground in the middle, surrounded by lush trees and shrubs. A walking path circles the playground and branches out through the greenery to the edges of the park, accentuated with working lamps to light the way.

Kuroko makes a beeline for the swing-set, sitting down on one of the swings, bag dropped down by the metal poles. He swings back and forth, the metal joints squeaking in slight resistance.

‘What do I do now…?’

In all honesty, Kuroko has absolutely no clue. With the severing of ties with basketball, an irreplaceable part of who he is as died. Without basketball, he is nothing. Nothing but a soulless, empty being with no special purpose in life than the average person on the street. And if he is nothing, then what could he do? What can he do?

Kuroko felt his emotions well up again, clenching at his chest and forming the first tears in his eyes again. He felt really helpless, alone against harsh, cruel world. He grits his teeth in frustration, why was fate so horrid to him? What did he do to deserve such agony and torment? Furthermore, what was the point of carrying on if he had no purpose with even life?

A soft gust of wind blows through the park, rustling the leaves of trees and shrubs, and pushing the empty swing into motion, the metallic squeaking echoing through the silent park. It is as if the cool breeze is what pops the cork in the fizzing bottle of his emotion, for Kuroko simply lets the tears fall, and soon, his quiet weeps and sobs joins the metallic squeaking of the swing in its off-pitch melody.

The wind moves on, the park falling into silence again. Kuroko wipes away his tears, his weeps fading with the wind. Letting a few more sniffles spew out, he gathers the strength to stand up. Kuroko goes to reach for his bag, when his shoe taps against something on the ground.

‘What the…?’

Looking down, his eyebrows raise. There at his feet, lies a flute. It looked like a simple bamboo flute, if the material used to make flute was bamboo. Kneeling down to get a closer look, Kuroko’s eyes widen. The flute appeared to be made out of some kind of shiny, silver-like metal, and coursing beautifully through the body of the instrument, are gold inlays that look like vines with tiny leaves. The entire thing looks really damn expensive, and Kuroko is afraid to even touch it.

‘Did someone leave it here? But I didn’t see it before…’

Curiosity barges in and kicks his fear out. Kuroko slowly reaches his hand out, his fingertips gingerly touching the flute. He hesitates for a moment, before his fingers wrap around instrument, picking it from the ground.

And that is when Kuroko’s life is suddenly swerved into a new direction.

The moment the flute touches his palm, to Kuroko’s astonishment, it begins to glow in his hand. It does not grow into a blinding light as the trope would say. No, it remains a soft, subtle, but definitely noticeable glow. Kuroko almost drops the flute, but something compells him to hold onto it as the glow started to morph into the different colors of the rainbow and beyond.

Suddenly, the glow reverts back to white, and begins to creep up his arm. Now, in most circumstances, anyone would have flung the flute off and run away screaming, but Kuroko didn’t. As the glow spread all over his body, he felt a sense of warm comfort, his earlier distress and negativity disintegrating like a sand-castle meeting water. Kuroko can’t quite pinpoint it, but he feels as if a higher being is watching over and protecting him. He basks in this feeling of safety, something that he has never had since submitting his resignation letter two weeks prior.

Soon, Kuroko is surrounded by the glowing white light. In the soothing, comforting warmth, he gets up from the ground, flute in hand. He calmly steps away from the swing-set, and towards the center of the playground.

Slowly, he brought the flute to his lips, and despite having no knowledge or experience with a musical instrument, he began to play.

The moment it began, the playground didn’t feel like a playground anymore. Beautiful, gentle tones, harmonies and melodies left the flute and filled the air like butterflies in a spring meadow. Kuroko’s expression remains calm, but his innermost emotions are played out in the notes that flutter and swirl around him and the playground. There are so many, happiness, sadness, optimism, pessimism, hope, fear, joy, anger, despair, torment…numbness. His entire life story is weaved and sewn together by the colorful notes flying around him, from the joyfulness of his first year, to the trauma of today.

There was no need for words or phrases. Kuroko let his emotions and the music tell the tale.

Finally, the tealnette comes to the last few notes, and the music comes to slow, gentle end. The last notes fade into the night, followed closely by the glowing light that recedes from Kuroko’s form and the flute. As if pulled from whatever trance had taken over him, Kuroko relaxes his arms, the flute pulling away from his lips. His eyes open, slowly blinking before returning to focus.

‘Did…did that just really happen?’

Kuroko glanced down at the flute in his hands, now looking quite ordinary without the earlier glowing light. The tealnette simply couldn’t wrap his head around what had just happened. He had never touched a musical instrument, let alone play it so beautifully like some prodigy. And…what was that glowing white light that engulfed him earlier? Was it some kind of magic? If not, what was it then?

_“It’s you!”_

Kuroko doesn’t have another moment to think, for a loud, excited voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He hears footsteps running towards him, and a flash of emerald green, before suddenly tanned arms are wrapping around him and pulling him tightly into a broad chest.

Completely stupefied by the sudden turn of events, Kuroko barely hears the words that come next.

“I’ve finally found you, my prince. The Muse has guided me to you after so many years. I promise you, our love will not be separated anymore, for I will never let you go again!”


	2. Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko meets STARISH for the first time, unwittingly starting his journey into idol stardom.

_“I’ve finally found you, my prince. The Muse has guided me to you after so many years. I promise you, our love will not be separated anymore, for I will never let you go again!”_

…

…

…

For a few seconds, Kuroko’s mind remains blank. The sudden surprise short-circuited the wires in his brain, rendering him unable to process the current situation. Who is this person? Why is he hugging him? Why does this stranger know him? Whoever they are, they are now swinging him around as if they were reunited lovers, which finally get the cogs in Kuroko’s brain working again.

“A-Ano…”

The person stops swinging him around, just seconds away from making him sick.

“Who are you?”

Kuroko maintains his composure as the person loosens his grip on his smaller body, as if surprised by that question. Kuroko looks up, and soon, it is his turn to be (inwardly) surprised to see widened (and saddened?) emerald green eyes staring back at him.

He knows who this person is…

“My prince…” the person mutters, “…so even after so long, you still don’t remember me.”

Kuroko stares blankly back. His mind threatens to short-circuit again. There hugging him and gazing almost mournfully at him, is Cecil Aijima, member of the hit idol boy-band, STARISH.

“I always believed my love for you will help you remember. But is my love not enough?” 

Surprise gives way to confusion for Kuroko. Just what is Cecil talking about? What prince? Is he referring to him – plain, unassuming Kuroko Tetsuya whom almost no one notices? And why is Cecil claiming that he loves him? For heavens’ sake, he has never even met the tanned idol before! What is going on?!

_“Cecil! Unhand him!”_

Before Kuroko could utter another word to express his confusion, a shout reaches his ears. A barrage of footsteps follows. The next thing the tealnette knows, two pairs of hands wrench him from Cecil’s grasp. His vision of what is happening is obscured by two bodies, while shouts that he recognizes as Cecil’s pierce from behind the human wall protecting him.

“W-What are you doing?! He’s my prince!”

_“What nonsense are you talking about?! You’re harassing a complete stranger!”_

“He’s not a stranger! He just doesn’t remember me!”

Kuroko recognized those voices. They are…

“Hey, are you alright?”

Kuroko turns to the person who asked him the question. Jinguji Ren is facing him, concern gracing his handsome features. The person standing on Kuroko’s right also turns to face him.

“My apologies.” Hijirikawa Masato says, “It must have been really unexpected for you to be suddenly harassed by Aijima-san.”

Kuroko doesn’t respond. His gaze falls behind Ren and Masato. The remaining members of STARISH and their composer, Nanami Haruka, are holding back a struggling Cecil from reaching him. 

STARISH…every one of them are here. They are either standing in front of him or just a few paces away. One of Japan’s biggest names in the entertainment industry are in the same playground with him.

Is…is this real?

Kuroko’s mind tried to determine to answer, resulting in a system overload that blew out all the wiring in his brain. As his mind shut down, so too did all coordination within his body. Kuroko’s vision blurred, and his legs gave out. Amidst the shouting, STARISH only realized something was wrong was when Kuroko keeled over, and landed with a loud against the ground.

“My prince!”

\---------

_“Cecil?”_

_“Hm? What is it, Nathaniel?”_

_“What’s that your reading?”_

_“It’s a book of fairytales my mother gave to me.”_

_“Can I see? Can I see?”_

_“Sure! Sit next to me, and we can read together!”_

_“Wow! The prince is so handsome!”_

_“He is, right?”_

_…_

_…_

_“Cecil?”_

_“Yeah?”_

_“May I be your prince?”_

_“As long as I get to be your prince, Nathaniel.”_

_“Yahoo! I’m Cecil’s prince!”_

\----------

…

…

…

‘…Ugh…’

All Kuroko sees is black. He can’t tell where he is, but he knows that he is no longer at the playground. What sounds like the distant, almost inaudible echo of busy traffic and the sound of incoherent shuffling emanate not far from his ears. He feels something plush underneath his body, soft over his front, and something cold and damp over his forehead.

Kuroko wills his brain to start functioning properly, to clear up his vision to allow himself to see where he ended up. Bit by bit, his visual image sharpens from the blurriness from before. The first thing he sees, is a ceiling, with spotlight lamps shining gently down.

‘Wha…?" 

“Oh! You’re awake!”

Kuroko slowly turns his head to the voice. Two people come into his field of vision, one with red hair and the other with pink hair, male and female respectively.

“How are you feeling?” asks the redhead. 

It takes a moment for Kuroko’s restarting brain to process the identities of the two people sitting by what appeared to be a bed that he is laying upon.

“Could have been better, Ittoki-san, Nanami-san.”

Kuroko slowly shifted himself into sitting position, hand pulling the damp object, which turned out to be a cloth, from his forehead. He takes a good look around, noting his presence within someone’s bedroom, possibly one of the member’s.

“How did I end up here?”

“You fainted, Kuroko-kun.” Haruka replied, “We brought you here to help you recover.”

“I see…” the tealnette trailed off, “I apologize for the trouble.”

“No need to apologize, Kuroko.” Otoya dismissed, “We’re just glad to see that you’re okay. Besides, you must have been spooked when Cecil suddenly hugged you out of the blue.”

The mention of the tanned idol’s name kick-started Kuroko’s thought process.

“Aijima-san! Where is he?”

“I think he’s still outside in the sitting room.” Otoya looked thoughtful, “Last time I saw him, he was getting a lecture by Hijirikawa about harassing strangers.”

“…And the flute I was holding?”

“Flute?” Haruka responded, “I think Natsuki-kun took it with him when we left the playground.”

“Ah, in that case…” Kuroko pushed the quilt away, “May I have it back?”

“Is it yours?” Otoya asks.

“I…don’t know.” Kuroko admits, “This may sound absurd, but the flute just appeared at my feet when I was at the playground. And…when I think about it now, I think the flute has got something to do with Aijima-san appearing out of nowhere and hugging the life out of me.”

Another few seconds of silence follows. Kuroko scans the faces of Otoya and Haruka, looking for any signs of disbelief. He finds none, which doesn’t mean anything for him, but if he is certain about something, is that they did look deep in thought.

“Well, I’m not sure what to believe here.” Otoya admits, “But I think we should go ask Cecil for his side of the story.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Kuroko nods, “But, one request, can I ensure that Aijima-san will not glomp me again?”

“I think the others will stop him if he tries.” Haruka replies.

With the reassurance for his personal space, Kuroko is helped off the bed by Haruka and Otoya. After steadying himself and taking a few trial steps, Kuroko determines that he has the strength to walk. With that, the trio head for the door, and Otoya opens it.

Kuroko immediately notes that they are entering what must be the sitting area, which he realizes to be quite large - several soft, leather couches and love-seats half-encircling a glass coffee table, with a large plasma TV not to far away. There is a spiral staircase which Kuroko guesses must lead to other bedrooms and bathrooms. There is a dining area with a dry counter and a doorway to what he guesses is the kitchen. All of the lights are on, including the large crystal chandelier dangling over the sitting area, which is where Kuroko’s attention is quickly drawn to.

Taking up most of the space on the couches, are the remaining members of STARISH. Ren and Masato take up a love-seat, Tokiya and Syo take up the other, while Natsuki and Cecil are sitting on the largest couch. As Otoya expected, Natsuki had the flute, holding it out to Cecil who seemed to be deep in thought, staring at the said instrument.

“Ano…minna.”

Kuroko’s words snap the six idols’ attention towards him, and as usual he notices that a few of them, particularly Natsuki and Syo, flinch at his sudden presence. He then notices Cecil’s emerald eyes light up, and he instinctively takes a step back when the tanned idol jumps up from the couch. Thankfully, Masato sends Cecil a disapproving look when he tries to run up to Kuroko. The tealnette watches Cecil’s expression fall into hurt confusion, and Masato shake his head. Cecil appears to get the silent message, and returns to his spot on the couch.

“Yo, you feeling better?” Syo asks, breaking the first blossoms of tension in the air.

“I’m feeling much better now, thank you for your concern, Kurusu-san.” Kuroko acknowledged, before turning to the rest of the room, “And I am very appreciative of everyone’s help in bringing me here to recover. I apologize for the inconvenience caused.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Masato stands up, “We just did what was needed to ensure your wellbeing.”

Kuroko lets out a breath, bowing in thanks.

“I forgot that most of you do not know who I am.” the tealnette continues when he straightens up, “My name is Kuroko Tetsuya, and it is a pleasure and honor to meet you all.”

The greeting is returned with cordiality. Despite already knowing their names, Kuroko is introduced to the remaining members of STARISH. Once Masato allows the tealnette to sit down next to Ren, and Haruka squeezes herself next to Cecil, the real talking begins.

“The question I have for everybody, though I think perhaps this applies more to Aijima-san,” Kuroko eyes the tanned idol, who is returned a hopeful glint from those emerald green eyes, “Does anyone know anything about the flute?”

All eyes turn to Cecil, who responds in a heartbeat.

“The flute has symbolic meaning in my home country, Agnapolis.” Cecil begins, “A long passed-down legend is that when the Muse created music for the ancestors of my people, the first instrument she created is the flute. And through the ages, the flute has become a symbol of love between partners, because it is said that whenever one plays their flute, the music that comes is a unique symbol of their love for the other. And that no matter how far they are separated, the music created by the flute that binds their love together will always reunite them.”

“But how does that explain you running off like that when we were wrapping up our fan meet last night?” Tokiya questioned.

“I heard the music of my destined beloved.” Cecil’s eyes became slight glassy, “I heard it coming from the flute that Kuroko-kun was playing.”

Now, all eyes were on Kuroko. Otoya and Haruka already heard his story, but listened to whatever the tealnette had to further give.

“That is the funny thing.” Kuroko began, “I never had the flute in my possession at all in my life. I already told Nanami-san and Ittoki-san, but the flute just appeared out of nowhere at my feet at the playground. And when I picked it up, it started to glow white in color. I don’t know how it happened, but I found myself playing the flute as if I had owned it all my life.”

A few seconds of silence followed as everyone digests the information. Kuroko is near certain that none of them will believe him, and it is expected, when he was the only one present to have witnessed the event.

“Well, without concrete proof, we can’t just take Kuroko-kun’s words at face-value.” Tokiya remarks, before turning to the tealnette, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, Ichinose-san.” Kuroko waves his hand, “I didn’t expect anyone to believe me anyway.”

“But there must be some way to test Kuro-chan’s words!” Natsuki butts in, “Maybe he can try playing it again?”

STARISH glances at each other, considering the bespectacled blonde’s words. After a second of deliberation, they come to a conclusion.

“Alright then!” Otoya proclaims, “We’ll see how well Kuroko-kun can play the flute.”

The tealnette nods in obligation. He gets up from the love-seat, and Natsuki hands him the flute. He makes his way to a spot in front of the plasma TV, and readies himself. To be honest, he is feeling rather nervous again, what with eight pairs of eyes staring at him instead of an empty playground like the night before. Nonetheless, he takes a deep breath, empties his mind, and brings the flute to his lips.

The first note that comes out…is an absolutely off-key scream that barely counts as a note. Everyone flinches at the unholy sound, and Kuroko swears he hears something shatter somewhere in the suite.

“Gomen, that was my bad.” Kuroko pulls the flute away, “I’ll try again.”

Despite the bad start, no one has any objections. Kuroko takes another breath, and is about to take another shot at another note, when all over, his mind is suddenly filled with images.

He suddenly sees the young child from his dream the night before, especially those bright emerald-green eyes. And just like back in the park, all his thoughts melt away as the flute glows white, before spreading to his entire form. STARISH stare completely stupefied, as they watch Kuroko, as if in a trance, bring the flute to his lips, and begin to play.

Harmonies, melodies and rhythms, as if strung together beautifully by the Muse herself, flutters and swirls around Kuroko and the room. Like butterflies emerging from cocoons, his inner emotions are formed into the notes and flown into the ears of his audience. The story he weaves and brings forth, are of blank canvases and a tiny splattering of hope for the future, but also the grim cloud that still hangs over him. The confusion of the present is also mixed in with the melodies. All the time, Kuroko’s eyes remain closed, and his expression blank. His logic and rationality have shut down, giving way for his heart to conduct the story and how the music is played.

Finally, the music fades into nothingness. Kuroko opens his eyes, and pulls the flute from his lips, just as the white glow recedes from his body and the flute. He glances at his audience, calmly taking in the stunned expressions, wide eyes and ajar mouths that grace the members and composer of STARISH.

“You…you…”

All eyes turn to Cecil, his eyes shimmering and lips quivering slightly.

“You are truly my destined love! The Muse has indeed brought us back together again!”

This time, no one manages to stop Cecil in time from leaping off the sofa, dashing over and sweeping Kuroko up in another bone-crushing hug. This time though, Kuroko merely blinks as he is squeezed tightly, the flute slipping from his fingers and dropping with a clink onto the marble floor.

“Ano…Aijima-san?”

At the mention of his family name, Cecil stops suffocating the tealnette.

“Listen, I don’t know how to wrap my head around this current situation.” Kuroko continues, “I still have no idea why you still call me your prince, since I am pretty sure that we only just met today. Also, there’s the business over the flute.”

Kuroko inwardly winced at the look of sadness and hurt that flashes across Cecil’s face, but he pushed on, to find some sort of middle ground in this situation.

“However, I know this isn’t just delusional rubbish. I believe that everything has a grain of truth in them, and that everything happens for a reason. Maybe it is just something that I don’t remember at this point. Who knows? But for now, until we have more answers, why don’t we go back to the first page?”

Cecil’s hands loosen from Kuroko’s form, allowing the latter to step back.

“Let’s start again. Konbanwa, Aijima-san. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kuroko bowed respectfully. Cecil stays silent for another moment, before returning the greeting.

“Konbanwa. My name is Aijima Cecil. It’s also a pleasure to meet you, Kuroko-kun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here's chapter two of The Song in Me. I was wondering if this story was worth continuing, but I felt that even if I could make one reader happy, I should continue it. I hope the characters are not too OOC.
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated! Stay tuned for more updates.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, so I have been rather inactive here on AO3 lately. This is the beginning of a crossover story between KnB and Utapri. I hope everyone enjoys the prologue.
> 
> This story will be an AU of sorts, as it does not fully follow the canon timeline of both KnB and Utapri. Various elements from the games and anime of Utapri will be the basis of inspiration for several points in this story.
> 
> Feedback will be greatly appreciated, though no flaming will be tolerated.


End file.
